Eighteen Acres: A Novel (18 page)

“I have Ms. Kingston on the line, Madam President,” the operator said.

“Melanie, can you hear me?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes, Madam President, I can hear you. How are you?” Melanie asked.

“I’m fine. Come see me as soon as you land. We need to do a statement soon.”

“I’ve been working on a statement on the plane. I spoke to Roger, and—”

“You spoke to Roger?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes. He went over the fact pattern for me. We’re going to need to brief the press on the entire operation. The military will brief after you, and—”

“Operational briefing? Melanie, do you have any idea what happened?” Charlotte said, her voice rising.

“I think so. There was sniper fire on the airstrip, so Roger put you in the closest helicopter to get you out of there, and then the helicopter with the press pool on it was hit. Dale is in critical condition, but the others are OK. She’ll be moved to the military hospital in Germany as soon as she’s stable enough to travel,” Melanie recited.

“God, Melanie, no. No, that is not what happened,” Charlotte moaned.

“I’m sorry. What am I missing? I have been on secure video conferences for the last seven hours. What did I get wrong?”

“That is not what happened. They told us to cut the trip short. They told me on Air Force One, and I didn’t listen,” Charlotte said. “Melanie, are you there?”

“I’m here, Madam President. I’m listening.”

“We left the interview location, and we were heading back to the helicopters. I got on Marine One, but something was wrong—or that’s what I thought, but now I don’t know. Roger grabbed me, literally pulled me out of Marine One before the agents could even get to me. There was sniper fire. Did they tell you that?”

“Yes, that’s what I said, Madam President. Listen, you might be in shock. Have you been checked out by the doctors?”

“Stop talking to me like I’m a fucking idiot. Listen to me,” Charlotte insisted.

“I’m listening,” Melanie said.

“Melanie, we knew it was too dangerous. The intelligence suggested that there was an uptick in violence, and Albert suggested we cut the trip short, but Roger said it would be OK. And then, as we were taking off, they just came out of nowhere and started firing. The base was under attack. I was on Marine One, but Roger made them land, and then he pulled me out and put me on the other helicopter. He told them the mechanics didn’t sound right, but I was told that Marine One was fine. I didn’t know, Melanie. And it all happened so fast. I didn’t know what was happening until we lifted off the ground on the press chopper, and I saw them. I saw them running toward Marine One. They must have fired a shoulder-launched grenade. I saw it go up in flames and crash. They thought they had killed me and they were celebrating. But Roger left Marine One on the ground
as a decoy. Do you understand what I’m saying, Melanie? Roger left Marine One there as a target. He used Dale and her crew so I could escape on another helicopter. He left them on Marine One to die.” Charlotte’s voice started to strain with emotion, but she steadied herself. “Melanie, are you there?” she asked.

“I’m here.”

“Melanie, I need you to ask Roger for his resignation as soon as you get here.”

“Charlotte, you need to do the statement as soon as I land. The public hasn’t seen or heard from you in nearly twenty hours. All they know is that Marine One went down, and word is getting out that Dale was hurt. There are rumors that she’s dead. We need to get in front of this before it’s too late.”

“Melanie, for once, this isn’t about getting ahead of the press. If that girl dies, our administration has blood on its hands. Roger nearly killed her. We need to announce his resignation,” Charlotte insisted.

“We’ll talk when I get there. He thinks he saved your life, Charlotte. He thinks he deserves your gratitude, and he can’t figure out why you won’t see him.”

“What he did was not brave. He traded one life for another. That’s not heroic—it’s criminal.”

Melanie sighed. “I’ll be there in about an hour. Don’t do anything until I get there, Charlotte, OK?”

“Yeah. OK. See you soon,” Charlotte said.

She hung up the phone and asked to be connected to Peter’s cell phone. A military aide had called Peter and her parents immediately following the crash. They were told that there had been an unanticipated security breach and that Charlotte was safe and being taken to an undisclosed location from which she would call as soon as she could.

“Charlotte, are you all right?” he asked on the first ring.

“Yes, I’m fine. Are you with the kids?”

“Yes, we’re all here. They want to talk to you. Let me put them on.”

“No, not yet. I need to tell you something, Peter.”

“What? Were you hurt? Are you OK, Char?” he asked.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. It’s Dale,” she said.

She heard him take a breath.

“She was in a helicopter, and it was hit by a shoulder-launched grenade. They went down, and she was brought to the hospital here, in Afghanistan. She was in surgery for, I don’t know how long, a long time. I was in there the whole time, Peter. I was in there, and they took really good care of her. She’s in the ICU now. She hasn’t woken up yet.” Charlotte’s voice cracked. She couldn’t cry. She wouldn’t cry. She took another breath. “Peter, a plane is waiting for you at Andrews. It will take you to the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. They’re going to move her there as soon as they can,” she said. “Peter, listen to me. She’s tough, and she’s going to be fine.” Peter still hadn’t said anything.

“I’m in her room now. She’s resting, and she looks really peaceful. I am going to call her parents next and have them meet you at Andrews.” She could hear him breathing. “Peter, say something,” Charlotte said.

“Why are you in her room?” he asked.

“What?” Charlotte was stunned by the hostility in his voice.

“Why are you with her? You don’t sit at the kids’ bedsides when they’re sick,” he said.

His words were like body blows. Peter’s resentment had been building up for so long that even he seemed surprised by its ferocity.

Charlotte took a breath and spoke calmly. “You’re right. I’ve missed a lot of colds and flu bugs over the years. But we both know that’s not what this is about, don’t we?”

He was silent.

“You think I put her in danger. You think that I am so petty that I put your girlfriend in harm’s way, what, to punish you? Give me a fucking break, Peter. For once, give me a break.”

“I wish I could,” he said.

Melanie

The president has been in the room the whole time,” the military aide said. “She hasn’t left to eat, and she didn’t go to bed last night. Just slept sitting in a chair by the bed.”

“Really? The president has been in there the whole time?” Melanie asked as they walked down the hospital corridor. She doubted that the president had done any sleeping.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, pleased to be briefing the White House chief of staff on the president’s actions.

They came to a stop. “Thanks for your help,” Melanie said.

“My pleasure,” he said.

She gently pushed the door open.

Charlotte was sitting next to Dale’s bed with her head in her hands. Her clothes were uncharacteristically disheveled, her face was ashen, and her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail.

Charlotte gave Melanie a weary smile when she saw her. “Hi, Mel,” Charlotte whispered. “Let’s talk in the hall,” she said, pointing at Dale. She stood up and walked into the hallway.

“Madam President?” Melanie asked.

“I’m fine, Melanie. Thanks for coming.”

They went into a room that had been set up as an office for Charlotte.
Secure video-conference equipment lined the wall, and secure phone lines had been installed. A computer and printer had been set up on a desk against one wall, and a small sofa had been pushed against the opposite wall.

They walked slowly over to the sofa and sat down.

Charlotte looked at her hands and cleared her throat.

Melanie braced herself.

Charlotte didn’t say anything, so Melanie spoke first. “Madam President, we really need to get you in front of the press. It’s important that the American people see you take charge of the situation, especially right now.”

Charlotte stared off into space. Melanie was starting to worry that she wouldn’t be able to pull off the press statement.

“Melanie, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?” Melanie asked.

“I don’t think I want to do this anymore,” Charlotte stated.

Melanie didn’t know if it was the tension created by their extraordinary circumstances or the simple truth Charlotte had spoken, but she started to laugh. She couldn’t help it.

“I’m sorry, Madam President. I just, you just, you took the words right out of my mouth,” Melanie said.

Charlotte looked at her for a few seconds, and then she laughed a little bit, too.

Melanie was relieved.

Charlotte was back.

With the tension broken, they leaned toward each other, and Charlotte told Melanie what had happened. Melanie took notes so she could turn Charlotte’s words into the framework of the press statement. Charlotte was calmer than she’d been when they’d spoken by phone, and her account was clear about one thing: Roger had dramatically altered the chain of events on the landing strip by ordering the pilot of Marine One to land the helicopter after it had taken off. What was unclear was whether Roger had actually believed there was something wrong with Marine One and whether he knew for sure that the Black Hawk they were using to transport Charlotte was
the target. According to Charlotte’s account, the pilot’s log showed no mechanical defects with Marine One. If Roger did, in fact, land Marine One as a decoy so Charlotte could escape, then Charlotte was correct—he’d been willing to trade the lives of the news crew for Charlotte’s.

“Melanie, we don’t save anyone—not even the president—by sacrificing another life,” she said.

“I understand how you feel about this, Charlotte,” Melanie started to say.

“How I feel? This isn’t about my emotional reaction. This is clear-cut to me, and I think it will be to most of the American people. Do you disagree? Are you taking Roger’s side, Melanie?” Charlotte stood up.

“No, of course not,” Melanie soothed.

“Good,” Charlotte said.

“I’m just saying that it’s a big deal to force Roger’s resignation less than twenty-four hours after something like this. And not that this figures into your decision making, but the political reality of forcing Roger to resign before any investigation is done is devastating. The press will say you threw him under the bus, and Republicans will probably attack the hell out of you for letting him take the fall. I know it’s sexist, but some of them think he’s the only reason you’ve been successful here and in Iraq.”

Charlotte stood and walked across the small room. “I meant it when I said that I don’t want to do this anymore,” Charlotte said.

“Yes, ma’am,” Melanie said.

“I want to put it all out there, Melanie,” Charlotte said. “All of it.”

She pulled a chair in front of the computer and motioned for Melanie to sit next to her. Charlotte talked, and Melanie typed, stopping to read sections out loud and then making revisions as they went. The words came much easier for both of them than they had in a long time, and when Charlotte was finally done talking, Melanie asked for some time alone to fine-tune the remarks.

The light on her BlackBerry that flashed when it was receiving a message had been blinking nonstop. Reporters, White House aides,
members of Congress, and Cabinet members were all looking for advance notice of what Charlotte would say. She hadn’t responded to a single message.

It’ll be worth the wait, ladies and gentlemen,
Melanie thought as she printed out a copy of the speech for Charlotte’s final review.

Dale

Dale stared at the ceiling and tried to figure out how long she’d been there. She knew she was in a hospital, but she didn’t know where, and she didn’t know why.

She tried to speak to the nurse who was changing the IV in her arm. After a couple of failed attempts, she managed to make a sound. She tried to cough, but there was something in her throat. Her hands flew to her mouth, and she started to panic when she felt the tubes there.

“Easy, girl, easy does it. I’ll get that out. Just settle down. Take a breath and exhale, now,” the nurse said, pulling out the breathing tube.

Hers was definitely not the voice Dale had heard while she slept.

Dale felt as if her throat was on fire.

“How you feeling?” the nurse asked.

“Everything hurts,” Dale whispered.

“I know, I know. Everyone’s gonna be so happy that you’re awake,” the nurse said.

Dale was in a daze. She tried to nod at the nurse, but she couldn’t focus on what she was saying.

“Let me get the doctor, and there’s someone else who wanted us to get her as soon as you woke up.”

When she returned, she was followed by a woman in scrubs.

“Hi, Miss Smith, how are you doing?” the woman in scrubs asked. “I operated on you when you came in. How’s your pain level on a scale from one to ten?”

“Eight,” Dale lied. It was more like twenty-five.

“We’ll get you some Percocet, and if it’s really bad, we’ll give you morphine, but I want to start getting you off that.”

Dale closed her eyes briefly. It was clear now that she was the one who had been in a crash.

“My crew?” Dale said.

“They’re OK,” the doctor said.

Dale tried to smile. The nurse was saying something to the doctor, but Dale couldn’t make out their conversation.

“Go get her” was all she heard.

“I’m going to do an exam. I want to check the incisions,” the doctor said.

She pulled the sheet down and exposed Dale’s midsection. It was tightly wrapped with bandages that went all the way around her body. The doctor peeked through some of the gauze.

“You had a good deal of internal bleeding. We couldn’t figure out where you were bleeding from, so we had to open you up,” she explained. “You were really lucky,” the doctor added.